Electrically-driven hair clipper



May 29, 1928. 1,671,265 M. ANDIS ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN HAIR CLIPPER Filed June 26, 1926 l l l l l l l lTI I ITI Im l lTl lm l A TTORNEYJ Patented May 29,

'QUNITIED STATES PATENIfQ-FFICE.

narnw arms, or mama, wrsconsni.

morazcmt-nmvax ma omraa.

Application fled. June 88, 1986. Serial Io. 118,877.

My invention'relates to improvements in' Figure 3 is a sectiona 1 view drawn on electrically driven hair clippers.

- In a co-pending application, Serial No.

118,676, filed June 26, 1926, I have shown. and described an electric motor for hair clippers and similar tools which can be operated either with a direct or alternating current, the motor being self-tuning with reference to the frequency of an alternating current. In this application I have illustrated such a motor as applied to a hair clipper and the object of the invention herein described and claimed is primarily directed to the solution of the problem involved in the use of such motors for the operation of hair clippers and similar tools in which the-success of the tool is dependent upon its light weight and the possibility of manipulating it with minimum fatigue to the hand of the operator.

My object is to provide an electrically operated hair clipper in which the number of reciprocatory or vibratory parts are reduced to a minimum and the weight thereof also reduced to a minimum; in which the center of gravity of the motor and associated parts will coincide as nearly as possible with the center of that portion of the handle which is grasped by the hand of the operator; to provide a motor, the construction and dis tribution of parts of which, will allow the cross sectional dimensions of the handle to be reduced to a minimum, and to provide a hair clipper having the above mentioned characteristics in an organization which allows the clipping blade to operate substantially along a center line transverse to the longitudinal central portion of the handle and in close proximity to its axis whereby thrust and resistance pressures are'distribut ed along such axis with minimum fatigue to the hand of the operator, the arrangement being also such that the gyroscopic ef fects of the rotating parts will have a mini mum effect in resisting the necessary manipulative movements of the clippers during a hair cutting operation and in general to provide an efiicient, durable electrically driven tool of light weight adapted to be held in the hand of the operator and controlled while it is'being manipulated with reference to the work. 1

In the drawings: Y

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved hair clipper.

Figure 2 is a plan view with the handle cover removed.

line 33 of Figure =2.

Figure 4 is a detail plan view of the pressure plate and movab e blade in assembled relation.

Figure 5 is a sectional view drawn on line 55 of Figure 4, and including a fragment of the casing. Figure 6is an enlarged detail view of the blade actuating .lever and its driving crank. Figure 7 is: a fragmentary view of the connector plug and its socket in a separated position.

Figure 8 is a sectional view ofthe same drawn to a plane exposing the terminals.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

In a companion application bearin even date herewith and to which this application is in part divisional, Ihave shown and described an electric motor peculiarly adapted for use in driving the hair clipper herein described and claimed, sai'damotor having a field frame 10 adapted to be seated in the hollow handle or shell .52' of a tool such as a hair clipper. The field frame 10 with itspoles 11 and 12, their series windings 13 and 14 and the fiat unitary unwound arma ture bar 17 provided with arcuate-poles 18 and 19, the non-magnetizablecap plate 21. f

the vibrator lever 23, its actuating cam 26 operating within the eccentric'bushin 25, the spring for urging the vibrator lever to circuit closing position when not actuated by the cam to circuitbreaking position, the vibratory contact points 36' and 37, the controlling lever 43 with its pivotally supported starting dog 46 for actuating the ratchet wheel 49 when starting the motor, may all be constructed and operated as described in said companion application, and as these features are not claimed herein, further description is deemed unnecessary except a general statement with reference to the mode of operation, which is as followsz' As the armature rotates, the associatedcam on the motor shaft actuates the vibrator during each revolution of the armature to interrupt the motor circuit while the armature poles are passing the field poles. This allows the armature to de-energize and to the circuit is again closed by the vibrator. The controller lever carries a projection which bears on the spring that urges the vibrator toward circuit closing position, and the arrangement is such that the controlling lever may be adjusted to various positions to regulate the effective length and tension of the spring and thereby control the speed of the motor. The starting dog is pivoted to the controller lever and is adapted when moved in one direction to actuate the ratchet wheel on the motor shaft and to start the motor. The operating arm or piece on this dog projects through a slot in the casing 52 and is used to actuate the dog and also to adjust the controller arm to its various positions. This actuating piece is in the position to be operated by the thumb of the user and stop the motor and to regulate its speed while the tool is in operation. The motor thus constructed will operate with either a continuous or an alternating current, and it will operate with an alternating current regardless of whether the vibrator is in operation or whether the circuit is permanently closed.

For the purposes of the invention herein described, any motor having a rotary driven shaft may be employed if sufficiently diminutive and operable in the manner above described. The motor shaft 16 is provided with a crank, preferably inthe form of a disk 60, having a crank pin 61. Thedisk is located immediately above the cam 26 Which operates the above mentioned vibrator, the cam being disposed between this disk and the cap plate 21. The crank pin is provided. with a roller 62 adapted to travel in a slot 63 formed in an arm 64: of a tool actuating lever which is fulcrumed to a pin 65, the lever having an elongated hub 66 which embraces the fulcrum pin, and said pin comprising a bolt connected with a projecting car 67 on the armature frame. The tool engaging arm 68 of the lever is preferably forked and composed of slightly resilient material. The forked extremity of the arm 68 is received in a socket or notch 69 in the movable clipper blade 70 and preferablyexerts resilient pressure against the blade at the ends of said notch.

The blade 70 is provided with clipper teeth 71 of ordinary type and has a longitudinally extending groove 72 in its upper surface. This clipper blade is interposed between a resilient tension plate 73 (which is' secured to the casing at 74) and a fixed clipperblade or shear plate 75 having comb teeth 76. The tension plate 73 has its forward portion offset for bearing contact with the clipper blade 70 and is slotted at 77 to receive a pair of balls which travel in the groove 72 of the blade 70, whereby said blade is guided in a straight line parallel with its toothed forward margin. The balls may be retained in the slots 77 of the tension plate by an ordinary slotted ball retainer. The tension or guide plate 7 3 is also provided with a slot 79 through which extends the tool actuating arm 68 of the blade actuatin lever. The loose connection of the arm in the notch 69 formed in the rear margin of the blade allows the blade to move in the straight line along which it is reciprocated notwithstanding the arcuate movement 'of the connecting end of the lever.

The power arm 64 of the lever is also preferably forked in a plane intersecting the slot 63 which receives the actuating crank pin. A set of bolts. 80, extending transversely through the fork arms, provides means for taking up wear on the'walls of the slot 63 or for initial adjustment in conformity with the diameter of the crank pin roller, b drawing the arms of the fork toward eac other. These parts are normally covered by a lid 82 forming a portion of the handle 52, and which may be secured to the body of the landle by any convenient means such as the screws 83. When the lid is removed the motor and the body actuating connections, and motor controlling connections, all will be exposed.

At the opposite end of the handle from that on which the clipper blades are mounted, a plug socket 85 is secured to facilitate the attachment of a cord containing the electrical conductors. This socket is provided with resiliently mounted contacts 86 enclosed by an adapter 87 having bayonet joint slots 88 in which studs 89 on the connector plug 90 may be engaged in a well known manner. The connector plug is provided with contacts 91, the ends of which are counter-sunk to avoid short circuiting through the finger of an operator when the plug is out of the adapter socket. The plug may otherwise be of ordinary construction, but it will be noted that the handle shell or casing 52 is made thick and heavy enough to partially receive the plug and its cupshaped holder 92, the adapter socket being wholly within the thickened end of the handle. This eliminates all danger of breaking the plug or injuring the electrical connection if the handle should be accidentally struck against an unyielding surface.

Heretofor'e the movable blades of hair clippers and similar tools have been ordinarily actuated electromagnetically, although attempts have been made to utilize rotary motors for that purpose. With the structure herein disclosed there is no difficulty in reciprocating the movable blade in a straight line parallel to the line of shearing teeth, and the use of the interposed balls between the tension plate and the movable blade provides a means for guiding the movable blade which will not become clog ed with hair during a clipping operation. e

. shaft 16 and of the armature.

permits the use of a vibratory lever, which may be loosely connected with the rear mar-- gin of the blade without any cramping effeets or any tendency to shift the blade from its straight line of reciprocation. The crank connection between the motor shaft and the lever also pr'ovides an efiicient means for converting the rotary motion ofthe armature shaft into the desired vibratory movement of the lever and clipper blade.

It will be observed that the pivot or fulcrum post 65 of the tool actuating lever is located between the motor and the blade and is substantially parallel to the motor shaft. The power arm 64 is connected with the motor shaft crank directly under the lid 82, this lid being on the upper side of the handle as the latter is held for hair clipping operations. The blade actuating arm of the lever extends obliquely from the pivotost hub to the movable blade and the atter is in a plane oblique to the axisrof the handle and upwardly inclined toward its toothed margin. The pressure of the movable blade upon the tension plate is derived from the comb late and the screws which secure it to the andle.

It will-be observed upon comparison of Figures 2 and 3 that the handle of my improved clipper is adapted to be grasped between the tapering end portions. The center of gravity of the entire structure will very nearly coincide with the center of the Each of the field pieces is rectangular in form and its longer axis extends along and in proximity to the axis of the handle, the weight of these pieces and their windings being balanced on opposite sides of the center. The clipper blade actuating lever and its operating connections are so disposed as to add as little as possible to the cross sectional dimensions of the handle in line with the shaft and nothing in any other direction, the lever fulcrum being located on a reduced projection of the field piece nearest to the clipper blades so that no added space is required for the lever mounting.

It will also be observed that the shear plate or fixed blade of the clipper is secured to a shoulder at one end of the handle so that this blade and also the movable blade have their working margins projecting upwardly and forwardly in planes which slightly cross the axis of the handle whereby the hair cutting operation is made to take place as nearly as possible along the line of such axis. The use of a rotary motor avoids the fatiguing shocks which are transmitted to the handle in magnetic clippers having vibratory armatures, for in the operation of the lever 64 it is moved most rapidly in the central portion of its vibratory stroke and is gradually brought to rest at the end of each stroke followed by a gradual accelerating movement in the opposite direction. The use of resilient forks at each end of the clipper, particularly at the end which is loose] connected with the clipper blade also a sorbs whatever shock might otherwise be developed. The climination of weight and shock and the reduction in the size of the handle to a minimum, not-- withstanding the mounting of the motor within that portion of the handle which is grasped by the operator, are features of great importance in that they enable prolonged operation of a hair clipper withoutmaterial fatigue other than that which necessarily results from holding and manipulatin the handle in the proper manner.

I c aim:

1. A hair clipper comprising the combination with a hollow handle having a set of relatively fixed and movable clipper blades at one end disposed obliquely with their working margins extending across the longitudinally extending central portion of the handle, an electric motor mounted in said handle and provided with a transversely disposed driven shaft, an actuating lever for the movable blade having a fulcrum pivot post between the motor and the blade, and a crank on the motor shaft operatively connected with an arm of said lever, the center of gravitv of the motor and working parts being substantially co-incidental with the center of that portion of the handle normally grasped by the operator. 2. A hair clipper comprising the combination with a hollow handle, of a set of relatively fixed and movable clipper blades at one end of said handle and disposed obliquely across the axis thereof, a tension plate substantially parallel to the blade, said blade being secured to the handle and having a bearing portion adapted to press the movable blade in the direction of the relatively stationary blade, an electric motor mounted in said handle and provided with a driven shaft transverse to its longitudinal axis, an actuating lever for the movable blade, and means for oscillating said lever in a con trolled speed movement with diminished velocity at the beginning and end of each stroke and with the load substantially balanced inthat portion of the handle to be grasped by the operator.

3. A hair clipper comprising the combination with a hollow handle having a set of relatively fixed and movable clipper blades at one end, an electric motor having a rotary armature mounted in said handle and provided .with a transversely disposed driven shaft located with its center substantially at the center of gravity and at the center of that portion of the handle to be grasped by the operator, an actuating lever for the mov-,

able blade having a fulcrum pivot post be- 1 mounted at one end of the handle, a guiding tension plate secured to the handle and having a portion adapted to bear resiliently upon the movable blade in the direction of the stationary blade, said tension plate being provided with antifriction bearings and said movable blade being channeled parallel to its working margin and adapted to receive said antifriction hearings in guiding relation to the walls of the channel, and a motor operatively connected to actuate said blade along the line of said channel, said movable blade being otherwise free to move in any direction upon the stationary blade.

5. A hair clipper comprising the combination with a support, of a set of relatively fixed and movable blades mounted at one end of said support, a vibratory blade actuator for the movable blade provided with a slotted actuating arm, and a motor mounted on said support and provided with adriven shaft having a lever supporting eccentric disk provided with a roller carrying crank loosely engaged in the slot of said actuating arm, the walls of said slot being adjustable with reference to the diameter of said roller.

6. In a hair clipper, the combination with a support, of a resilient plate secured to one end portion of the support and provided with transversely extending ball receiving recesses, balls loosely retained in said recesses, a set of relatively fixed and movable clipper blades, means for connecting the fixed blade to the support with the movable blade interposed between it and the tension plate, said movable blade-being provided with a groove to receive said balls, and motor driven means for reciprocating the movable blade along a line determined by the engagement of the balls in said groove.

7. A hair clipper having a hollow handle and provided with clipper blades at one end, a motor seated in the handle within that portion to be grasped by the operator and provided with a controlling lever having a thumb piece extending through a slot in the handle in a position for actuation by a thumb of the user, said motor having a rotary shaft operatively connected with the clipper blades, and adapted to transmit motion thereto without transmitting vibratory shocks to the handle, the weight of the 0P. crating parts being substantially balanced with reference to the center of the grasping portion of the handle.

8. A hair clipper comprising the combination of.a hollow handle provided with a ing end of the handle and extending transvcrsely to a longitudinal plane of the handle which includes the armature axis, a fixed comb plate secured to said shoulder, a resil ient tension plate also secured to the shoulder in offset relation to the comb plate, an interposed clipper blade and an anti-friction guiding connection between the clipper blade and the tension pla-te, said clipper blade having free bearing movement upon the shear plate, and a lever having a resiliently yielding crank connection with the armature and a loose resilient connection with the clipper blade, the clipper blade being disposed to operate in line with the longitudinal central portion of the handle and the parts being disposed to operate without imparting vibratory movement or twisting strain to the handle.

9. In a hair clipper, the combination of a hollow handle having a motor mounted within the portion of the handle to be grasped by the operator, said motor having a central rotary armature and a pair of elongated field pieces in balanced relation to the center of gravity of the handle, a blade actuating lever pivotally connected with one of said field pieces, a clipper blade loosely and resiliently connected with one end of the lever, said armature having a lever actuating crank and the lever having a forked arm loosely engaged with said crank, whereby the handle may be manipulated with a minimum fatigue due to vibration or twisting strain of unbalanced parts.

10. A non-vibratin electrical hair clipper having an electrical motor within the portion of the handle to be gras ed by the operator and arranged with its field pieces longitudinally exposed along the axis of the handle and its shaft disposed transversely thereto substantiall across the center of gravity of the too, a clipper blade and blade operating connections between the m0- tor shaft and the blade extending along the interior surface of one wall of the handle in general conformity to the contour of such surface throughout the major portion of its length and having an operating end extending across the axis of the handle and resiliently connected with the clipper blade -whereby dimensions of the handle may be reduced to a minimum, the weight of the parts being substantially balanced within the hand of the operator and vibratory shocks eliminated.

MATHEW ANDIS.

Ill 

